Recent data shows high school graduation rates across the U.S. are at an all-time high, surpassing 81 percent. Studies also indicate that a young person’s success can be greatly enhanced by a champion or mentor, an adult who consistently helps in ways both big and small. Goodwill’s GoodGuides program is among several mentoring success stories that were featured on PBS’s “American Graduate Day” broadcast on October 3.
READ MORE from Goodwill® GoodGuides Program Keeps Youth on Path to Graduation
Here in New England, autumn is saturating our leaves with its most glorious tones. Every year, I’m in awe of the colors being produced, but once in awhile, I find a new obsession with one shade in particular. Even if it’s an old familiar hue, I’ll suddenly see it in a new way that has me wishing I could redecorate my whole house to capture its mood. Of course, I don’t have the time or money to undertake such a restructuring, so I have to find other ways to bring the color-du-jour into my life. This year, I’m head over heels for the bright, lemony look of citron that I’ve seen adorning some of my local branches. It’s not a color that is often associated with fall, but in my neck of the woods (quite literally) it’s really been catching my eye.
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month and Goodwill Industries International is proud to join service providers, advocacy groups and employers among other stakeholders, in acknowledging the importance of employees with disabilities as a vital component of the U.S. labor force. This year's theme, developed by the U.S. Department of Labor — "My Disability Is One Part of Who I Am" — underscores the fact that employees with disabilities bring a wide variety of skills to the table. However, it is evident that more work needs to be done to educate employers and support people with disabilities. Approximately one in five Americans has a disability and they make up nearly 20 percent of America's workforce, yet their unemployment rate is more than twice that of workers without disabilities.
READ MORE from Goodwill® Celebrates National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Any one of Goodwill Industries of Southern Rivers (Columbus, GA/GoodwillSR) nine career centers is often filled with clients who are on a mission – a mission to find employment and increase economic stability. Increasingly, Hispanics who live in GoodwillSR’s 50-county territory are included in that mission. Recognizing the need to connect Latinos in east Alabama and west Georgia to local resources, the Goodwill's Hispanic Services has kicked off a robust initiative, in partnership with the Goizueta Foundation, to attract and serve this growing demographic.
READ MORE from Columbus, GA Goodwill Connects Hispanics with Key Resources
My name is Pachi McLeod. As the Hispanic Services Manager [at Goodwill Industries of Southern Rivers (Columbus GA)], I get to provide services for the community, but I also get to support the bilingual staff at their different locations, and I get to be a kind of the bridge between the Hispanics and non-Hispanics alike.
How’s your Halloween planning going so far? If you can believe it, only a matter of weeks stand between you and one of the spookiest – and most entertaining – nights of the year! As for me, I’m still in the idea stage of my costume and décor planning (I’d better get moving!), so I’ve been spending some time lately brainstorming ideas (read: Googling).
Yesterday, Congress passed H.R. 719, a continuing resolution (CR) that keeps the lights on in the federal government for another ten weeks. Since 2001, Congress has approved dozens of CRs, some just to keep the lights on in order to resolve a few issues in one or two appropriations bills, but at other times like yesterday because Congress hadn’t approved a single funding bill.
READ MORE from FY 2016 Budget: Tell Congress to “Raise the Caps”
Thomas Nelson Community College recently announced the opening of the Thomas Nelson Center for Building and Construction Trades at the Goodwill Retail Operations Center in Hampton, VA. Goodwill of Central and Coastal Virginia (Richmond) partnered with the school to deliver workforce training that leads to employment in well-paying jobs for a portion of the Peninsula’s population that has historically been underemployed. Individuals in this population often lack a high school diploma or GED, literacy skills, work experience, security clearance, or access to educational funding.
Despite some challenges stemming from a intellectual disability, Josh MrKvicka completed high school and looked forward to the next step…a job! Josh needed help tackling the job search. After trying another agency with no luck, Josh and his family gave Goodwill of Western Missouri & Eastern Kansas (Kansas City, MO) a try. He and Goodwill employment specialist, Jane Siela, went to work. He now works at Freddy’s Restaurant in St. Joseph, MO as a "Lobby Guy".
It’s hard to believe, but Halloween is just around the corner and the time for costume and décor shopping is now! One thing that I love about Halloween is how reliant the holiday is on setting a mood. I feel like this day, more than any other, is shrouded in a distinct ambiance. To achieve an eerie atmosphere, I’ve noticed that it can sometimes be as simple as streamlining everything to black and white. This emphasizes the shadows, and we all know that Halloween is a shadowy event, don’t we?
